Feb. 9] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 155

Authorizing the Acquisition of Land Notwithstanding the Provisions
as to Limitation of Area

B. C. FREYBERG, Governor-General
ORDER IN COUNCIL
At the Government Buildings at Wellington, this 25th day of
January, 1950
Present:
The Hon. S. G. HOLLAND PRESIDING IN COUNCIL

Pursuant to section two hundred and forty-six of the Maori
Land Act, 1931, His Excellency the Governor-General, acting
by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, doth
hereby authorize the disposition to and acquisition by the Guardian
Trust and Executors Company of New Zealand, Limited, of the
land described in the Schedule hereto, notwithstanding the provisions
of Part XII of the said Act.

SCHEDULE

Block. Area. Survey District.
A. R P
Rangipo Waiu B 2 .. 511 3 33 .. XIV, XV, Moawhango.
Rangipo Waiu B 3 .. 597 1 19 .. XV, Moawhango.
Rangipo Waiu B 4 .. 1,195 3 16 .. XV, Moawhango.

T. J. SHERRARD,
(M.A. 5/12/47.) Clerk of the Executive Council.

Members of Physiotherapy Board Appointed

B. C. FREYBERG, Governor-General

In pursuance and exercise of the powers and authorities conferred
upon me by section four of the Physiotherapy Act, 1949, I,
Bernard Cyril Freyberg, Governor-General of the Dominion of New
Zealand, do hereby appoint—
Margaret Wilson, and
Donald McPhee, O.B.E.,
to be members of the Physiotherapy Board under the aforesaid Act
from the 1st day of January, 1950.

As witness the hand of His Excellency the Governor-General,
this 4th day of February, 1950.
JACK T. WATTS, Minister of Health.

Commission to Inquire Into and Report on the Cause of and the
Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Aircraftsman Waata
Haremia Momo

B. C. FREYBERG, Governor-General

To all to whom these presents shall come, and to RAYMOND
FERNER, Esquire, Stipendiary Magistrate: GREETING:

Whereas it has been deemed expedient that a Commission
shall issue to inquire into the cause of and the circumstances
surrounding the death of Aircraftsman Waata Haremia Momo which
occurred at the Royal New Zealand Air Force Station at Weedons
on the fourteenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred
and forty-nine, and into the administration of the said station and
the conduct of officers or other persons in the public service so far
as they concern the circumstances of such death:

Now, therefore, I, Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Cyril
Freyberg, the Governor-General of the Dominion of New Zealand,
in pursuance and exercise of the powers conferred upon me by the
Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and of all other powers and
authorities enabling me in this behalf, and acting by and with the
advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion,
do hereby constitute and appoint you, the said
Raymond Ferner
to be a Commission to inquire into and report upon—

(1) Whether at any material time or times any member or
members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force or the
Police Force or any other officer or officers, person or
persons in the public service failed to exercise reason-
able care, or to carry out any orders or instructions,
or to fulfil any duty or responsibility, according to the
standard reasonably to be expected of him or them,
or was or were guilty of any breach of discipline or
other improper conduct, in relation to the circumstances
leading up to the death of the said Waata Haremia
Momo:

(2) Whether a proper standard of order, control, and discipline
was at all material times exercised over the Weedons
Air Force Station in all matters relevant to that
occurrence:

(3) Whether proper orders or instructions were issued at all
material times to prevent firearms or ammunition
getting into the possession of unauthorized persons,
or into the possession of persons at unauthorized times
or for unauthorized purposes:

(4) Whether all reasonable steps were taken to prevent the
said Waata Haremia Momo from obtaining possession
of firearms and ammunition and to regain possession
of the firearms and ammunition from him or otherwise
to prevent him from misusing the same:

(5) Whether the said Waata Haremia Momo was a fit and
proper person to be admitted as a member of the Royal
New Zealand Air Force and whether reasonable care
was exercised in so admitting him:

(6) Whether the death of the said Waata Haremia Momo
might or could have been prevented by the exercise
of reasonable care by, or by the fulfilment of any duty
or responsibility resting upon, any member or members
of the Royal New Zealand Air Force or the Police Force
or any other officer or officers, person or persons in
the public service.

And generally to inquire into and report upon such other matters
arising thereout as may come to your notice in the course of your
inquiries which you consider should be investigated in connection
therewith, and upon any matters affecting the premises which
you consider should be brought to the attention of the Government:

And you are hereby authorized to conduct any inquiry under
these presents at such times and places as you deem expedient,
with power to adjourn from time to time and place to place as you
think fit, and to call before you and to examine on oath or otherwise
such persons as you think capable of affording you information as
to the matters aforesaid, and to call for and examine all such books,
papers, writings, documents, and reports as you deem likely to
afford you the fullest information on any such matters:

And using all due diligence, you are required to report to me
not later than the thirtieth day of April, one thousand nine hundred
and fifty, your finding and opinion on the matter aforesaid together
with such recommendations as you think fit to make in respect
thereof:

And you are hereby strictly charged and directed that you
shall not at any time publish or otherwise disclose, save to me in
pursuance of these presents or by my direction, the contents or
purport of any report so made or to be made by you:

And it is hereby declared that this Commission shall continue
in full force although the inquiry be not regularly continued by
adjournments from time to time or from place to place:

And, lastly, it is hereby further declared that these presents
are issued under and subject to the provisions of the Commissions
of Inquiry Act, 1908.

Given under the hand of His Excellency the Governor-General
of the Dominion of New Zealand, and issued under the Seal
of that Dominion, this 1st day of February, 1950.

S. G. HOLLAND, Prime Minister.

Approved in Council—
T. J. SHERRARD,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Royal Commission to Inquire Into and Report Upon Claims Made
by Certain Maoris in Respect of the Wanganui River

George the Sixth by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Northern
Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King,
Defender of the Faith.

To Our Trusty and Well-beloved Sir Harold Featherston
Johnston, Knight, of Opoutama, one of Our Counsel
learned in the law, and sometime a Judge of Our Supreme
Court of New Zealand: GREETING:

Whereas upon proceedings taken in the Native Land Court
(now called the Maori Land Court) for the investigation
of title to the portion of the bed of the Wanganui River between
the tidal limit at Raorikia and the confluence of the Wanganui
and Whakapapa rivers the Court, on the twentieth day of September,
one thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine, made a provisional or
preliminary determination that the said portion of the bed of the
Wanganui River was, at the time of the making of the Treaty of
Waitangi, land held by Maoris under their customs and usages:

And whereas upon proceedings taken in the Native Appellate
Court (now called the Maori Appellate Court) by way of appeal
from the provisional or preliminary determination aforesaid, the
Native Appellate Court, on the twentieth day of December, one
thousand nine hundred and forty-four, dismissed the appeal so
brought:

And whereas upon later proceedings taken in the Supreme
Court it was, in effect, declared that by virtue of section 14 of the
Coal-mines Act Amendment Act, 1903 (now represented by section
206 of the Coal-mines Act, 1925), the bed of the Wanganui River,
so far as the same is navigable, is, and is deemed to have always
been, vested in Us:

And whereas it is contended by or on behalf of certain Maoris
that they would, but for the provisions of the said section 14 of
the Coal-mines Act Amendment Act, 1903, be the owners, according
to Maori custom and usage, of the aforesaid portion of the bed of
the Wanganui River, and that they have by the operation of that
section been deprived of their right and title to that portion of the
bed of the Wanganui River without their consent, and have suffered
loss by reason of that enactment:

And whereas the Government in and for Our Dominion of
New Zealand desires that inquiry should be made into the claims
aforesaid to the end that, if those claims are well-founded and of
substance, the General Assembly may be enabled to consider what
relief, if any, should be accorded or granted to those so claiming;

Now know you that We, reposing trust and confidence in your
impartiality, knowledge, and ability, do hereby nominate, constitute,
and appoint you the said
Sir Harold Featherston Johnston
to be a Commission—

(a) To inquire and report whether it is established that, but
for the provisions of the said section 14 of the Coal-
mines Act Amendment Act, 1903, any Maori or any
group or class of Maoris would have been the owner
or owners, according to Maori custom and usage, of the
aforesaid portion of the bed of the Wanganui River:

(b) To inquire and report whether it is established that any
Maori or any group or class of Maoris has, by reason
of the enactment of the said section 14, suffered such
loss or deprivation in respect of the aforesaid portion
of the bed of the Wanganui River as would, in equity
and good conscience, entitle him or them to compensation:

(c) If it be reported that there has been any such loss or
deprivation as aforesaid, then to recommend what
compensation in money or money’s worth should now
be granted to the Maori claimants: